Today was our first full day of orientation and it was long, but then isn’t it always? At least we got the paperwork for our residence visas under way yesterday and someone from the university took us around Ankara to help us complete the necessary steps. I was relieved that we weren’t left to flounder around on our own with our questionable grasp of Turkish; that could have been a hot mess.
In other news, I returned to my room and boy was my room clean! The best part was that I didn’t have to do it. Yay!
I would also like to take a moment to comment on the hospitality in Turkey. When we were sitting in the HR office yesterday, someone came in with small glasses of hot tea for everyone. It happened again today during orientation. Then at about 10:30, someone brought in a large tray that had small plates of sweet and savory cookies. I think I’m really gonna like it here! (I’m singing that last line to the tune of Postman Pat, particularly the part that says “Pat feels he’s a really happy man.)
The American teachers were taken down to the university-authorized bank in an attempt to open up Turkish bank accounts. We were told that we had to have our passports and our Turkish tax ID, which we knew beforehand wouldn’t be given until we had our residence visas. We won’t get our residence visas until close to the end of September, which means no bank account for these furr’ners yet. We all went down to the bank for nothing and it was hot out that day, we’d walked a few blocks out in the sun, we were thirsty, hot and pissy. (Okay, I was; I’m not sure about everyone else.) We walked outside the bank to walk back to where we could catch a bus back to TOBB, passing a fruit and vegetable stand. My ears perked up when I suddenly caught a whiff of fresh dill, something I’d been looking for each time I went to TW. I bought a bunch and it only ended up cost me 1.25 TL, or about 60 cents. I had a lovely omelet the next morning with my fresh dill. In addition to finding fresh dill, we all took our first ride on a city bus. The afternoon, then, was not a total waste.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Sunday, August 25, 2013
My first two days in Ankara
TOBB ETU, my new employer, has kindly provided the incoming American teachers with housing. Granted, it’s in the dorm but I prefer it for several reasons. First, it’s free and each teacher gets a room with a private bathroom to him/herself. Second, housekeeping comes twice a week to clean our rooms; that is also free. Third, it’s a five minute walk to work from the dorm. If I stand on the balcony of the kitchen and look to my right, I can see the building where I work. And last, but not least, at this point, I’m trying to adjust to living in a new country, a new culture, and a new job. I don’t want the added stress of trying to find an apartment that’s affordable and close to campus. In addition, I would have to figure out how to get to work from the new apartment. On top of that, once I got an apartment, I’d have to figure out how to get furniture. So, yeah, I think I’ll stay here for the time being.
There was one glaring disadvantage to staying on campus. Right now, none of the students are here, and therefore the air conditioning hasn’t been turned on. The first night’s sleep in the dorm was unbearably hot to the point that I couldn’t even sleep with any covers on. I woke up at 3 am, too hot to sleep. I wandered out to the kitchen where I heard a noise, and I saw someone sitting there. Her name is Nehal and she’s a Turkish graduate student at TOBB, who also happens to be an insomniac. We chatted for awhile then I went back to my room, wet the tip of my hair towel, and kept it on my face in an attempt to keep cool.
I continued to be nauseatingly hot through the next day, which was compounded by a brief 15-minute walk to Armada mall with Carly and Jacob (fellow teachers.) Little known fact: I’m extremely sensitive to heat. So after being hot in my sleep on Thursday night, hot all day Friday, then taking a hot walk later that night, the events culminated with me vomiting twice at the public restrooms at the mall. That’s okay, though; in between my war with my body where it was trying to purge and I was trying to force it the other way, I bought an oscillating fan at Tesco Kipa. Carly refers to it as “the Turkish Wal-mart.” My second night here, then, was much more bearable and all was right in Whoville.
On Saturday, I went back to the Turkish Wal-mart (TW) for a few more things. I hadn’t thrown up anymore and I was feeling closer to normal again, though I hadn’t completely said my final sayonara to Mr. Jetlag. I first went to the bookstore to buy the Lonely Planet Turkish phrasebook. At some point during checkout at TW, I lost my phrasebook, so that was 20 Turkish lira down the drain. I don’t have enough Turkish to have been able to insist to the cashier “no, I’m sure I left my phrasebook here in a small bag; please look under your counter.” In fact, this experience marked the eighth time in two days that I thought to myself “My god, I really need to learn Turkish or I won’t survive.”
When I got back to the dorm, I made myself an omelet. I think that may have been the first time I cooked since my arrival in Turkey. There’s something about being able to cook that makes me feel more at home, so it definitely contributed to settling in and feeling distance from the gross crustiness of my travels on Thursday.
Stay tuned for more of my adventures and griping!
There was one glaring disadvantage to staying on campus. Right now, none of the students are here, and therefore the air conditioning hasn’t been turned on. The first night’s sleep in the dorm was unbearably hot to the point that I couldn’t even sleep with any covers on. I woke up at 3 am, too hot to sleep. I wandered out to the kitchen where I heard a noise, and I saw someone sitting there. Her name is Nehal and she’s a Turkish graduate student at TOBB, who also happens to be an insomniac. We chatted for awhile then I went back to my room, wet the tip of my hair towel, and kept it on my face in an attempt to keep cool.
I continued to be nauseatingly hot through the next day, which was compounded by a brief 15-minute walk to Armada mall with Carly and Jacob (fellow teachers.) Little known fact: I’m extremely sensitive to heat. So after being hot in my sleep on Thursday night, hot all day Friday, then taking a hot walk later that night, the events culminated with me vomiting twice at the public restrooms at the mall. That’s okay, though; in between my war with my body where it was trying to purge and I was trying to force it the other way, I bought an oscillating fan at Tesco Kipa. Carly refers to it as “the Turkish Wal-mart.” My second night here, then, was much more bearable and all was right in Whoville.
On Saturday, I went back to the Turkish Wal-mart (TW) for a few more things. I hadn’t thrown up anymore and I was feeling closer to normal again, though I hadn’t completely said my final sayonara to Mr. Jetlag. I first went to the bookstore to buy the Lonely Planet Turkish phrasebook. At some point during checkout at TW, I lost my phrasebook, so that was 20 Turkish lira down the drain. I don’t have enough Turkish to have been able to insist to the cashier “no, I’m sure I left my phrasebook here in a small bag; please look under your counter.” In fact, this experience marked the eighth time in two days that I thought to myself “My god, I really need to learn Turkish or I won’t survive.”
When I got back to the dorm, I made myself an omelet. I think that may have been the first time I cooked since my arrival in Turkey. There’s something about being able to cook that makes me feel more at home, so it definitely contributed to settling in and feeling distance from the gross crustiness of my travels on Thursday.
Stay tuned for more of my adventures and griping!
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Heading to Turkey
Well, here I go, embarking on my next great adventure: teaching in Turkey. I interviewed for an was accepted to an EFL teaching position at TOBB University, a private university in Ankara.
The plane left Charlotte, North Carolina at about 6:30. From there, I had two-hour layover in Chicago. It was a long flight from Chicago to Istanbul: eleven hours. In hour three, I could already feel my ankles hulking out into cankles. However, I promised myself that I wouldn't disturb my seatmate too much, so I only got up two or three times during the entire flight.
I flew Turkish Airlines. At this time, I'd like to give a shout-out to them as they took very good care of their passengers. Once we were airborne, a small helping of Turkish Delight was brought around to all the passengers. About an hour later, the crew brought menus to us so that we could decide on our dinner. Being a carnivore, I chose the meat option, which was some sort of beef roll, a cucumber salad, rice, and an eggplant dish that was too spicy for this little white girl.
At some point in the middle of the flight, a crew member brought around some hot towels. Let me tell you, that was refreshing to put the steam over my skin and suddenly not feel so gross.
About two hours before landing in Istanbul, breakfast was served. I thought that was a bit odd, since we would land in Istanbul at 5 pm. However, if one was counting from when we left Chicago then, yes, breakfast was appropriate.
When we arrived in Istanbul, the plane stopped right in the middle of the tarmac. All the passengers then took stairs to the tarmac, then took an airport shuttle bus, which was about the size of a city bus, to the main terminal. I panicked while I stood in line for visas and passports, but I made my flight to Ankara just fine.
I knew I had to meet the university-supplied driver at International Arrivals, but Ankara is a large city and therefore boasts a large airport. I asked the gentleman at the information desk where I could find IA. He said "Go out, take left, walk 200 meters." I smiled and thanked him, but as I was walking away, I thought "Oh no! How far is 200 meters? Twenty feet? A mile?" I still have no idea how far it is.
Once I found my way and retrieved my luggage, I was happy to see the driver with my name on the placard he held up. He knew very little English; however, that's more than I can say for my Turkish. The only word I knew was "hello" (merhaba). Needless to say, it was a quiet ride to my lodgings. But after being in transit for a grand total of 19 hours from Charlotte, NC, to Ankara that was just fine with me.
Until next time, kiddies!
The plane left Charlotte, North Carolina at about 6:30. From there, I had two-hour layover in Chicago. It was a long flight from Chicago to Istanbul: eleven hours. In hour three, I could already feel my ankles hulking out into cankles. However, I promised myself that I wouldn't disturb my seatmate too much, so I only got up two or three times during the entire flight.
I flew Turkish Airlines. At this time, I'd like to give a shout-out to them as they took very good care of their passengers. Once we were airborne, a small helping of Turkish Delight was brought around to all the passengers. About an hour later, the crew brought menus to us so that we could decide on our dinner. Being a carnivore, I chose the meat option, which was some sort of beef roll, a cucumber salad, rice, and an eggplant dish that was too spicy for this little white girl.
At some point in the middle of the flight, a crew member brought around some hot towels. Let me tell you, that was refreshing to put the steam over my skin and suddenly not feel so gross.
About two hours before landing in Istanbul, breakfast was served. I thought that was a bit odd, since we would land in Istanbul at 5 pm. However, if one was counting from when we left Chicago then, yes, breakfast was appropriate.
When we arrived in Istanbul, the plane stopped right in the middle of the tarmac. All the passengers then took stairs to the tarmac, then took an airport shuttle bus, which was about the size of a city bus, to the main terminal. I panicked while I stood in line for visas and passports, but I made my flight to Ankara just fine.
I knew I had to meet the university-supplied driver at International Arrivals, but Ankara is a large city and therefore boasts a large airport. I asked the gentleman at the information desk where I could find IA. He said "Go out, take left, walk 200 meters." I smiled and thanked him, but as I was walking away, I thought "Oh no! How far is 200 meters? Twenty feet? A mile?" I still have no idea how far it is.
Once I found my way and retrieved my luggage, I was happy to see the driver with my name on the placard he held up. He knew very little English; however, that's more than I can say for my Turkish. The only word I knew was "hello" (merhaba). Needless to say, it was a quiet ride to my lodgings. But after being in transit for a grand total of 19 hours from Charlotte, NC, to Ankara that was just fine with me.
Until next time, kiddies!
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Eddie Izzard
I’ve been a fan of comedian/actor Eddie Izzard for about 5 or 6 years. While I don’t remember exactly how I found out about him, I do remember seeing his HBO comedy special “Dress to Kill” and feeling that a lot of his funny-but-true observations resonated with me. I was transfixed by his ability to successfully fuse together topics like history, politics, religion, and pop culture and still make them unbelievably funny. Audiences are treated to a wild and interesting ride through his imagination and it’s incredibly entertaining.
I attended both of his Toronto shows at the end of May (hey, you only live once, right?) I’m happy to report that he seems to be back in girly-mode. That’s the version of Eddie Izzard I became a fan of and I think I’m more used to it than his boy-mode. Here are a few of my favorite Izzbits from the show:
• Izzard says he believes Noah (from the Bible) existed, built a boat, but he didn’t really put two of each and every animal on the ark. “How do I know that? YOU try it.”
• Giraffes can only show two emotions: fear and surprise. They have no other method of signaling other than to cough to other giraffes, an ancient British method, according to Izzard. Initially, the other giraffes have no idea what the main giraffe is trying to communicate to them. The bit then transforms into a semi-elaborate game of charades between the two parties (which is the point in the bit where I begin giggling uncontrollably.)
• The Darwin-Dickens connection - Charles Darwin, of course, who wrote “Great Expectations” the classic tale about an amoeba named Pip. Darwin lived one vowel over from Dickens. He later wrote his famous book on evolution, the original title of which was “Monkey, monkey, monkey, monkey, monkey, monkey, you.”
• Izzard treats his audience to a musical medley (at some points, the show began to resemble a mini-cabaret act.) He takes us through the Spartan battle of Thermopylae fought by child-star Shirley Temple who is killing her opponents while singing “On the Good Ship Lollipop” (Izzard erroneously refers to “On the Good Ship Lollipop” as a Temple film: it was actually a song from her 1934 film “Bright Eyes”) When discussing fish, “if you look in their eyes, fish have no ambition.” He begins singing “ambitiooooooooooon” to the tune of “Tradition” from the musical “Fiddler on the Roof.” Later when the fish somehow land up in a bird’s nest, he mimes a dance between the fish and the birds a la the Jets and the Sharks from West Side Story.
• Throughout the show, Izzard weaves his somewhat new-found belief in atheism. If God exists, he argues, the one place he should have showed up was the moon landing. Cut to Izzard miming Neil Armstrong et al showing up on the moon. God shows up “Heeeeeeeeeey, you made it!! Neil, hi, I’m God. Buzz! Are you Buzz Lightyear? I’ve been living here on the dark side of the moon with Pink Floyd and Darth Vader.” Izzard breathes into the microphone in a Darth Vader-esque fashion, but of course, on an Izzardian twist, that turns out to be Pink Floyd. Darth Vader, without his mask, sounds more like a woman with a weird voice.
• Though I can’t remember how he got onto the topic, Izzard discusses silent sheep. They prey upon sleeping wolves, who think that it’s their birthday because there are all these sheep and they’re hungry. The sheep shear themselves in front of the wolves, just to show no fear.
As I mentioned at the outset, I’ve been a fan of Eddie Izzard for several years. Yet the Toronto shows were the first time I’d seen him live. Needless to say, he does not disappoint and the two shows are now a highlight of my 2010 so far.
I attended both of his Toronto shows at the end of May (hey, you only live once, right?) I’m happy to report that he seems to be back in girly-mode. That’s the version of Eddie Izzard I became a fan of and I think I’m more used to it than his boy-mode. Here are a few of my favorite Izzbits from the show:
• Izzard says he believes Noah (from the Bible) existed, built a boat, but he didn’t really put two of each and every animal on the ark. “How do I know that? YOU try it.”
• Giraffes can only show two emotions: fear and surprise. They have no other method of signaling other than to cough to other giraffes, an ancient British method, according to Izzard. Initially, the other giraffes have no idea what the main giraffe is trying to communicate to them. The bit then transforms into a semi-elaborate game of charades between the two parties (which is the point in the bit where I begin giggling uncontrollably.)
• The Darwin-Dickens connection - Charles Darwin, of course, who wrote “Great Expectations” the classic tale about an amoeba named Pip. Darwin lived one vowel over from Dickens. He later wrote his famous book on evolution, the original title of which was “Monkey, monkey, monkey, monkey, monkey, monkey, you.”
• Izzard treats his audience to a musical medley (at some points, the show began to resemble a mini-cabaret act.) He takes us through the Spartan battle of Thermopylae fought by child-star Shirley Temple who is killing her opponents while singing “On the Good Ship Lollipop” (Izzard erroneously refers to “On the Good Ship Lollipop” as a Temple film: it was actually a song from her 1934 film “Bright Eyes”) When discussing fish, “if you look in their eyes, fish have no ambition.” He begins singing “ambitiooooooooooon” to the tune of “Tradition” from the musical “Fiddler on the Roof.” Later when the fish somehow land up in a bird’s nest, he mimes a dance between the fish and the birds a la the Jets and the Sharks from West Side Story.
• Throughout the show, Izzard weaves his somewhat new-found belief in atheism. If God exists, he argues, the one place he should have showed up was the moon landing. Cut to Izzard miming Neil Armstrong et al showing up on the moon. God shows up “Heeeeeeeeeey, you made it!! Neil, hi, I’m God. Buzz! Are you Buzz Lightyear? I’ve been living here on the dark side of the moon with Pink Floyd and Darth Vader.” Izzard breathes into the microphone in a Darth Vader-esque fashion, but of course, on an Izzardian twist, that turns out to be Pink Floyd. Darth Vader, without his mask, sounds more like a woman with a weird voice.
• Though I can’t remember how he got onto the topic, Izzard discusses silent sheep. They prey upon sleeping wolves, who think that it’s their birthday because there are all these sheep and they’re hungry. The sheep shear themselves in front of the wolves, just to show no fear.
As I mentioned at the outset, I’ve been a fan of Eddie Izzard for several years. Yet the Toronto shows were the first time I’d seen him live. Needless to say, he does not disappoint and the two shows are now a highlight of my 2010 so far.
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